The last time we saw the LG Vortex, it wasn't powered on and, while it was nice to see, there's only so much you can say about a device's button layout. Thankfully, the Vortex has been spotted in the wild once again, and this time its home screen is on display for all to see. The Vortex looks to be running the same almost-vanilla-Android-but-not-quite version of the OS that we saw on the Ally, with LG adding a dock with four apps at the bottom of the screen. The Vortex will be shipping with Android 2.2 pre-installed, although there's no FM radio on board, contrary to what was previously reported. You'll also notice that there's a Bing search bar near the top of the screen, leading many to believe that not only will the Vortex not be a DROID family member, but that Verizon is going to continue to Bing-ify handsets that don't get admitted to the exclusive DROID mafia.
There's been plenty of speculation in the past that Verizon will be regulating use of the DROID moniker, only allowing high-end handsets to bear the name. Save for Samsung's Fascinate, which I never really understood why it didn't get classified as a DROID, that speculation is looking very likely. There's a list of Android phones on Verizon that haven't gotten to be a DROID, including the DEVOUR, Ally, and probably the Vortex, too. What do you think of Verizon picking and choosing of which phones will be DROIDs? What traits do you think a phone must possess to be considered a DROID?
Via IntoMobile, Engadget
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